April 2, 2003

Radiohead on the Sly

Some friends of mine happened upon the new Radiohead album (in mp3 form) on the internet today. I am listening to it this moment in fact. I have also heard that the internet leaks are not the final mastered versions of the songs. Whatever the case, it’s awful damn good. Some great pop action mixed with some very different structural arrangements. Not as accessible as the last two, but that will probably change with a multitude of repeat listenings.

Commentary (3):

come ON jason, the leak happened saturday… you’re just not listening to it? sheesh. the official word from nigel and johnny is that the tracks are first rough cuts, but they’re still phenomenal. how joyous is it to have new radiohead? i was happy to hear they rock out again, in addition to pushing the multi-layered arranging stuff a bit further. i am in love.

No way, Colin and Thom officially stated that these are rough THIRD drafts, mixed from recent sessions in an abandoned orphanage 9.4 miles northwest of Liverpool. If they were the FIRST drafts, they would still have click tracks, “The Gloaming” would be 3.74 seconds longer, and the bass would bear the distinct marks of Ed’s playing, because Colin was in the States at the time, administering his hypochondriac uncle’s annual dose of an insulin placebo. In addition, the MP3s were originally posted at 11:49:10 PM EST on Friday, March 28th. Duh.